There will be an open house and celebration of Ian's life and work on Friday, May1st, from 1pm to 4pm at Cremation Society of Minnesota, 7110 France Ave, in Edina. Please join us at 2pm as we remember our dear friend and the impact he made on our lives. If you have any questions, please contact Jacob at jbrownmn (at) gmail (dot) com.

Long ago, I attended a local Minnesota Sci-Fi convention, called CONvergence. I was stoked, because Neil Gaiman was the Guest of Honor.

My friend Anne was back in town to visit family and for the con, and her hotel room was ground zero for the motley crew that assembled there. Elissa was one such person, and we're friends still to this day. She was there with her boyfriend, hair pulled into a ponytail, hanging past the middle of his back. His name was Ian, and Elissa and he were first loves. I always knew him as Ian, with no last name. Yeah--turns out Elissa's Ian was our Ian.

Oh my god. I... I can't wrap my head around it. He had such a passion and saw such beautiful things where other eyes never looked. I'm shocked and can't find words to express... I'm glad, in a way, that he was doing what he loved to do, and was so talented at doing, on his last day. His work will be his legacy.

pi8you- please, if you go, let his friends and family know how much he was appreciatd by all of us, all over the world. Though not all of us knew him well, his art touched each of us.

I finally made myself go over the bridge tonight after work here and as I went by the drain, I saw that the local artists have already paid Ian a mighty tribute:I'll be back out in the morning for a proper daylight shot, but there's something a bit haunting with this one.

@pi8you, thank you for the photo, and thank you for going to the bridge. If I may be so bold, to those of us unable to pay our respects in person, it means a lot to know one of our unofficial number is able to go there and represent.

what an awful loss.I really liked his pics and the words that went with them always seemed thoughtful and gentle.Like others here, I never exchanged any words with him but greatly appreciated his presence.My thoughts go to his loved ones.